Congratulations to the winners of the 2026 Poul Anderson Writing Contest. The contest is an annual event, sponsored by the Friends of the Orinda Library. Entries are submitted online in any of four categories: science fiction, essay, short story, or poetry. Named after the late Poul Anderson, a well-known Orinda science fiction writer, this contest is intended to foster the talents of young creative writers who live in or go to school in Orinda.
This year’s talented winners include Miramonte students Vinny Yu, for the short story, The Bearer of Dreams, Tildyn Andres, for the short story, Medic 12: Moscow, Vermont, and Serena Scheiner for the poem, Grief in California‘; and to Bentley Upper school student, Ayan Mohapatra for his short story, Tomato Juice.
Honorable mentions were awarded to these talented writers:
Holden Academy student Jamie Goldstein for the short story, The Gas Station, and Miramonte students Carol Zhang for the poem, Poem #18 -My Kindle, Jay Sandhu for the science fiction, Alien Discovery in New Mexico, Nina Segall for her essay, From Bud to Bloom.